


A Familiar Table - A Fable

by Moonfireflight



Series: Elilahra Ardens [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: 5.0 spoilers, Gen, How is it you have come to arrive here?, Shadowbringers Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:54:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23073538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonfireflight/pseuds/Moonfireflight
Summary: My friend Wanderingmind gave me an idea of writing a short fic based on the phrase "How is it you have come to arrive here?" I decided to use it as an excuse to let my WoL process some of her post-ShB feelings.
Relationships: Lahabrea/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Series: Elilahra Ardens [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1656427
Kudos: 2





	A Familiar Table - A Fable

A purple-haired Miqo’te sits down heavily in a creaking chair and props her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands, heavy tome at her side. It’s not long before the well-worn face of Baderon appears in her peripheral. "You're an awfully busy lass. How is it that ya’ve come to rest your bones here at the old Drowning Wench?"

"I just...needed to be somewhere familiar."

"Ye've been all over the world. Seen sights I could never'a dreamed of. There's nowhere else that draws yer heart?"

She sets her mug down on the table, staring into the watery ale as if somehow though it she can spy the Tempest and the enchanted ruins beyond. "Tell me, what are ya seein' when you look into that mug ‘o ale?"

"Where do I even begin?"

"At the beginning, a’course."

The beginning. He has no idea how close he is to the truth with that glib statement. She's one of only a handful of people who know - probably the only one currently on the Source who does. Which reminds her, she has some questions for Matoya later. 

Then again, no one here is a stranger to loss thanks to the very Calamities she's grown to understand all too well. She decides to risk it and veil her words in vagueries. 

"It is a beautiful place that I can never go back to now. The people there were kind, all of them."

"Yer describin’ a dream."

"It might as well be. There was one man in particular…"

"Ain't there always?"

"Honestly? Not usually."

"Fair."

"He was brilliant, creative beyond measure. I adored him as a teacher and a friend, and I craved more but it… wasn't meant to be, and he's no longer in this world. I've found love since then but I just can't shake all this loose from my mind."

"Some people are just like that, lass. They leave a mark on ya. They find a place in yer memories and make a permanent home there."

"What do I do, though? It hurts so damned much."

"Honor ‘is memory. Try rememberin’ how ‘e was back when ya first fell for ‘im."

It's so hard to dredge up those soul memories into the light. So hard not to see that angry mask, hear his mockery and hatred. But she lets her gaze soften, focusing on the feelings her past self shared with her and she catches a glimpse. Tousled blonde hair, eyes only a shade darker. He's the picture of purest excitement as he pulls you with him to show off his latest creation. He looks to you, waiting to see your reaction, and positively beams. 

There it is- your heart leaps in your chest as you remember Lahabrea for the sincere if quirky scholar he once was. You hold that joyous, wondering face in your mind, memorizing every detail, until it casts away the sneering Ascian. Remember, Hades had asked. "I swear I'll remember. Always."

"That's a good lass. Let me get you somethin’ to wipe away those tears an a mug of summa the real good stuff."

She touches her cheek, not having realized she was crying until he told her. By the Twelve, she was tired of crying, but this time at least it felt more cathartic then helpless. "Thank you. I haven't been able to tell anyone this, and it helped." She felt terrible that another man, even a dead one, held a home in her heart. But now, she understood she could respect his memory and fight on to make sure a calamity of that scale would never happen again.


End file.
